Shattered
by lord-harker
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are still relatively young and have yet to learn how cruel Love can truly be; but their ignorance is soon to be torn away, with some help from Sophia and the cruel hand of Fate. Modern!AU non-slash Sparks-verse: 2


**Disclaimer:** The television show, all the characters associated therewith and the basis for this and any other fics in the Sparks-verse are not mine! Wish I was that imaginative but no, it's not mine.

**A/N:** Part 1 of fic 2 of my Sparks-verse series. One of the longest updates I've done and probably able to be a fic in its own right but when part two comes along, you'll understand why they are going together. Four points. One: It's a modern AU so be warned if you don't generally like those sorts of fics. Two: Not slash, but can be read however you want, I don't mind. Three: I've tagged a song to this chapter, as I have for the second half, but this _isn't_ a song fic. The song is just one that I used to help me shape this chapter and that I think reflects what happens. Four: There will be non-glaring references to the first fic, Just A Spark. Reading that fic is not necessary to understand this one completely (i hope) but it will make a bit more sense if you've read it.

**Additional A/N: **To any of those who might be waiting on an update on Over Time, I've just taken a short necessary break following an unnecessarily harsh review and haven't given up on it I swear.

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><p><strong>Shattered<strong>

/SHatərd/ - adjective

**1.** Broken into many pieces

**2.** (of something abstract) damaged or destroyed

**3.** Exhausted

* * *

><p><strong>Song<strong>** – **Ring Ring by Mika

* * *

><p><strong>Arthur<strong>

It always amazed Arthur how, even though Uther rarely had the time to spend more than five minutes with his son, he had managed to select schools where he was the only person with his rather memorable name.

First school hadn't been too bad; if anything, his name played in his favour, everyone giving him the better parts of the cowboy, the policeman and other such authoritarian roles in the games he and his friends would play. Truly, it had been middle school where things began to go wrong.

It was around two months before the people he used to call his friends started to turn on him, one of them having picked up on the fact he was collected each day by Leon's charming older sister, Elsa, rather than his own father.

Daily taunts and heatless remarks cut deep into young Arthur's confidence and he ended up spending most days sat on the edge of the playground hugging his knees as he watched everyone run around laughing and squealing like maniacs, while doing his best to ignore the verbal abuse thrown his way.

He was never alone though, the over-confident and somewhat foolhardy Gwaine always close at hand offering a kind word when the boy was down and harsh colourful words when the bullies tried to make a big deal out of nothing. Then there was Leon who would do his best to keep an eye out for the small blond but being in the year above the other two, he had his own small circle of friends that he usually hung with.

It was shortly after his ninth birthday that something in Arthur snapped.

Anyone who dared to say even one ill word of his family was immediately set upon by a frenzied and angered young boy, punching, kicking, scratching and even biting on more than one occasion to try and shut them up. Gwaine went from being the idle threat-maker to the one who ran in to try and pull his friend from whoever he'd set his sights on this time. Except Arthur was much stronger then he looked and more than once he'd had to run for Leon to get involved before the teachers got wind of it.

Of course, the young Pendragon boy ended up outside the Headmaster's office more than once for his sudden change in behaviour during the first few months. Even so, no real punishment ever came his way. Letters with suggestions and advice were sent to his father and stern words were directed at him from all avenues; but Arthur just turned away from them, refusing all offers of help focusing instead on just surviving from one day to the next.

Secondary school was just as hellish, everyone picking up on his rather unique name; one might even say oddly unique given the fact there was nearly 3000 students in the school. Labelled with the unflattering nickname "Queen Arthur", Arthur mainly kept to himself sitting with Gwaine at lunch and ignoring pretty much everyone else as he wearily traipsed through the soulless corridors.

He'd given up the violence from almost the first day at the new school, his father having threatened him with some high-end, even-more-hellish, nine-months-of-the-year boarding school if he got into any more trouble. A prospect that seemed somewhat appealing when one idiot had actually tried to threaten him with a Stanley knife in art class; it was only with the firm, forceful hand of Gwaine on his shoulder, accompanied by a few choice, calming words, that Arthur had been able to walk away from that.

Then, when he was fourteen, a near infamous photograph of him appeared in most papers and was splattered across the television. It was a paparazzi shot that showed Arthur visiting his father, the oh-so-important Uther Pendragon, in hospital after the figurehead's second heart attack. It captured the nation's heart as the young man looked downhearted and downright glum, as any boy would be in his situation.

You see, through his years as Arthur's father, Uther had done his best to shield his son from the eyes of the press, thus none of his friend's knew who his father was and as a result who _he_ really was.

Suddenly, almost miraculously, the bullying stopped, replaced by desperate and clamouring fake smiles as everyone rushed to be his friend, all wanting the power of being the Pendragon's pal. Arthur didn't fall for any of it though, trusting only Gwaine and Leon as he always had. Leon's family had always been close to Arthur's and so he'd already known the truth and when prompted Gwaine had merely asked why he should give a rat's arse about whom Arthur's father was when he'd never met the man and, most likely, never would.

And then there was Sophia Tirmor.

A soft-spoken, blonde-locked beauty with near porcelain skin, a gentle soul who always seemed to glide as she walked by; it wasn't too difficult to guess why Arthur had harboured a crush on her since his first day, except she'd never spared him even a passing glance…until that damn photo.

Gwaine suspected foul play from the moment Arthur confessed, with a shy smile, that they were now an item; but he'd said that so long as Arthur was happy, he'd say and do nothing against them, before proceeding to make an off-hand comment about how no one was 'an item' and he shouldn't be such a damn prude.

Unfortunately Arthur was completely oblivious to the underlying threat of 'She screws with you, I'll rip her tits off' that laced his words, even as it rose to burn fiercely in the burly man's eyes.

Over the next six years, Gwaine failed to follow through with his threat, Arthur became seriously whipped to point of self-destruction and Sophia proved that she was _no_ angel…several times…with numerous men.

And that's how _this_ story began.

* * *

><p><em>bzzt…bzzt…<em>

Arthur drummed his fingers, perhaps a little too hard, against the small table and tried to focus on whatever Lance was talking about as he stood at the counter chatting with Merlin and ignoring the piercing stare he knew Gwaine was throwing at the side of his head.

…bzzt…bzzt…

His eyes flicked down to his phone as the vibrations ran through the table and up his arm and Gwaine coughed, perfectly conspicuously, gaining the attention of the others.

"Arthur?"

Throwing a threatening glance towards his tactless friend, he turned to look at Merlin who was stood behind the counter, looking at him with a puzzled look to match his confused call.

"Hmm?"

"You alright?"

Just as Arthur opened his mouth to throw them some lie about how he was perfectly fine thanks muchly but there was really no need for any concern, his phone began to buzz again making the entire table shake and he screwed up his eyes with a mild groan.

_bzzt…bzzt…bzzt…bzzt…_

"Ignore it Arthur." Gwaine's voice was forceful and strained, yet somehow steady at the same time.

_bzzt…bzzt…bzzt…bzzt…_

Throwing a quick glance at the screen to see what caller I.D. had to say on the subject, Arthur realised it was saying, 'No Arthur, this is not going away, answer now to avoid horrific and unavoidable questioning later.'

He ignored the look of extreme anger and disappointment on Gwaine and Leon's faces as he reached out to scoop his phone from the table, the former letting out a near feral growl that caused the blond to roll his eyes.

"It's my father."

Leon breathed in sharply, Gwaine's jaw set while Lance and Merlin looked confused and terrified respectively. Arthur nodded. Yep. That was how most people reacted to any mention of his father.

Struggling not to groan, Arthur stood, not willing to have it out on the phone in front of the few people who knew whom his father was and didn't care, and strode out the door before pressing the answer button on his phone.

As expected it was a tirade of angry shouts that blared down the speaker as he lifted it to his ear. Keeping his back to the window, not keen to see everyone watching him expectantly, he closed his eyes and focused on the words his father was throwing at him.

Eventually, the long-winded abuse slowed until Uther stopped to take a few too-audible deep breaths.

"Breathe, dad."

"_Arthur__…_" there was a shaky wheeze and a cough and Arthur winced.

"Please don't have another heart-attack." There were a few moments filled with laboured breathing. "Please…"

"_I__'__m_ _sorry._" With another cough, Uther's voice remained shaky yet firm as it took on an accusatory tone. "_Arthur,_ _what__'__s_ _this_ _I_ _hear_ _about_ _you_ _and_ _Sophia?_"

Raising his free hand to rub at his temple, Arthur resisted the urge to sigh. "It's over, dad."

"_Spare_ _me._ _You_ _two_ _break_ _up_ _every_ _other_ _week._"

"Not this time. It's over this time." Reaching his fingers across to cover his eyes, Arthur rubbed at them. "For good. It's just…it's complicated."

"_Arthur-!_"

"What do you care anyway?"

Uther's voice took on a tone of great offence. "_You_ _are_ my son_!_"

"I'm 19! I'm living on my own! My own life! Can't you get that through your _thick_ skull?"

"_How_ dare _you!_" Arthur winced, screwing up his eyes in frustration. He knew he shouldn't have said that, even as the words left his mouth he knew, and you didn't have to hear the conversation to know there was no possible way it was going to end well. "_I_ _shall_ _not_ _be_ _spoken_ _to_ _this_ _way_ _by_ _my_ _own_ _son!_"

Taking a deep breath, Arthur swallowed his fear thinking, '_In_ _for_ _a_ _penny,_ _in_ _for_ _a_ _pound._' "Screw you!" and hastily hung up.

Leaning back, he purposefully smashed his head back against the door and while still safely surrounded by solitude, he whined; a long high-pitched whine, the like of which he hadn't made since he was a child but he didn't care.

As he re-entered the coffee shop, he didn't bother to pretend it had gone fine, knowing that if anyone would see through the façade it would be the four men who waited in there for him. Unaware of the worried looks his friend's gave him as he made his way back to his seat, Arthur vaguely recalled someone asking how it'd gone but ignored it, quietly sitting down. The moment he was sat he all-but-threw the damn phone over to Gwaine before burying his pounding head in his folded arms.

"Arthur?" A voice that was both worried yet surprisingly steady. Definitely Gwaine.

"Please kill me…" His response was quiet, even more so when muffled, lost as it was in his arms as he refused to raise his head to answer. And although the others didn't hear, from the way Gwaine stiffened before placing a reassuring hand on his back, he knew his friend had.

"Not a chance."

* * *

><p>There were hushed voices outside the door. It was impossible from his current position to tell exactly how many of them there were but his flatmate Percy was probably one of them, most likely telling whoever else was out that he'd ended up calling how Arthur hadn't left his room in about a week and a half. Then they were arguing about something. Him most likely.<p>

Thoom thoom thoom thoom.

"Arthur!"

Thoom thoom thoom.

There was only one person that voice and forceful pounding could belong to and for once in his life, as Arthur curled further into himself, he wished Gwaine would shut up and piss off.

Somebody hissed something incessantly at the man beating at his door but it did nothing to dissuade Gwaine's anger at the door, causing him to shout louder.

"I don't care. Arthur! Open this door!"

Thoom.

"Arthur!"

Thoom!

More whispers and a few choice, colourful phrases came from the door before Gwaine huffed then grunted.

"Fine then. Arthur!" he called through the door again. "Whenever you feel like joining the _real_ world again, we'll be in the kitchen."

Muted footsteps padded down the corridor to the kitchen but Arthur just pulled himself closer to himself as there was yet another buzzing sound from wherever it was he'd thrown his phone how ever many days ago it was.

_bzzt…bzzt_

A tear he hadn't even realised was building slid across his cheek before silently plonking onto the carpet he lay on.

It had been around a month since he'd finally called time on his tumultuous relationship with Sophia and since then he'd had another five angry calls from his father as well as calls and messages from all her friends, each hurling threats and abuse towards him.

Then there were Sophia's messages.

The first had arrived around two weeks ago, shortly after a heated phone conversation with the girl in question.

_You__'__re_ _pathetic_ _Pendragon!_  
><em>I<em> _can__'__t_ _believe_ _I__'__ve_ _wasted_ _so_ _much_ _of_ _my_ _time_ _on_ _trying_ _to_ _make_ _you_ _better!_  
><em>I<em>_'__ll_ _make_ _you_ _regret_ _this!_

Not too bad, considering. Truthfully, he had expected far worse than that and was mildly relieved to see the harsh but easily ignored words.

Then the next morning during his lecture, he'd received the first sickening picture message. A 'perfectly' placed shot of some random guy mouth open in an obviously pleasurable moan as Arthur's ex-girlfriend playfully sucked at his dick, looking up at him, eyes glowing with a hungry expression of devotion; a heart-wrenching sight that forced him to rush to toilet, phone still clutched in his hand, to empty his stomach.

Four more arrived the next day, and more the next, then even more the next. Until eventually Arthur just stopped checking his phone, shutting himself away in his room and smashing the first thing to hand when ever it went off.

Two days ago he'd given up, exhausted, hungry and emotionally shattered as he curled up surrounded by the mess he'd caused. And that's where he was now.

He didn't move at the sound of a quiet click from behind him, partly thinking that maybe it was Gwaine trying a more subtle approach towards getting a response. That was, until he heard Merlin say two words he never thought the boy would say.

"Holy shit!"

Shifting slightly, he turned and saw the raven-haired coffee boy stood near the door, a look of shock on his face. Arthur just narrowed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I locked that door."

Merlin coughed looking sheepish for a moment, absent-mindedly rubbing his neck. "I'm kinda good with locks."

"I don't care." Arthur turned away again, closing his eyes once more. "Just leave me alone."

"Arthur. What happened?" He groaned inwardly at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Merlin, please."

"Was _that_ a snowglobe?"

"Merlin!" Arthur uncurled slightly as he shouted but shivered into himself as he heard that goddamn vibrating buzz come from an unknown corner again.

"What was that?"

Reaching to his temples with his hands, Arthur tried to dispel the memory of the first picture that damn buzz always brought forward in his mind. "My phone."

"Where is it?"

"Don't know." He groaned. "Don't wanna know."

"Arthur." He flinched at the amount of concern the boy seemed to be able to fit into just his name.

Waiting, fully expecting another question to come his way Arthur was surprised when he felt a nudge in his back, presumably from Merlin's foot, as he leaned over the huddled blond and confidently tugged the curtains closed above him.

Then the boy knelt down so he was leaning over Arthur. "Are you alright?"

His voice barely a mumble, he was half-hopeful that Merlin wouldn't hear him and just go already. "What do you think?" Silence stretched out between them but he could still feel the coffee-boy watching him intently. "That's really annoying, you know."

Merlin chuckled before letting out a gentle sigh and moving back. "If I show you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Piss off."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Arthur!" Merlin huffed, annoyed and impatient with his friend but spoke again anyway, confident that his next words were sure to catch Arthur's interest. "_Peli_ _hypnotig_ _o_ _olau_."

He turned to Merlin, a pithy remark and order to leave on the tip of his tongue, but it dissipated, lost the moment he saw the fruits of Merlin's words.

Small beauteous orbs of light were dancing and bobbing lightly above his head, the centres a bright white that faded to a light blue as it reached further outwards and threw out a gentle light that lit up the room rather remarkably.

"How…? Wha…?" Mesmerised by the small balls, Arthur was oblivious the satisfied smirk on Merlin's face at his slack-jawed reaction.

"Good to see you a little perkier." Merlin chuckled light-heartedly, although he frowned slightly when he saw how suddenly distracted his friend was. "Then again, this might not be much better."

…_bzzt…bzzt…_

As he watched, Arthur was snapped out of his trance by that annoying buzz and with a groan the blonde tried to curl in on himself again. He would have succeeded as well were it not for Merlin, his smile fallen, suddenly grabbing his arm and with a firm pull forcing Arthur out of it until he was more or less laid out on his back. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was trying to pry Merlin's surprisingly tight grip off his sore arm.

"I take it back. Before was _definitely_ better."

Tentatively, once sure his friend wasn't going to curl into a ball again, Merlin removed his grip and stepped back, intending to locate that dratted phone if only to shut it up so he could distract his distraught friend with greater ease.

Arthur sighed, opening his eyes as he felt Merlin draw back and he stared up at the small rotating orbs which remained circling above his head. He found himself still fascinated by their warm glowing presence but not preoccupied as he _had_ been before by their sudden appearance.

"What are these…things?"

…Well, not _as_ preoccupied.

There was a momentary pause as there was some shuffling over in the corner. "It's...er...it's complicated."

"They're beautiful." There was some quiet clicking and Arthur realised that Merlin must have located his phone.

"Arthur." The confusion was heavy on Merlin's voice and that sickening first image came back to mind. "Why do you have these…uh…?"

"Don't be an idiot, Merlin." The images were in the inbox, all of them labelled with the name Sophia and even someone like Merlin who wouldn't recognise her in the photos should be able to figure out that there was only one place they could have come from.

"There's hundreds of them on here."

"Three hundred and twelve at last count."

"When did you last count?" Merlin paused but Arthur wouldn't answer.

He wouldn't say that he'd counted around an hour ago, and an hour before that, and an hour before that. He wouldn't say how he couldn't find the drive to turn the blasted thing off, settling instead for having it on silent but growing to dread the damned buzzing that came from the vibrate. He would never confess just how truly idiotic he was with his foolish hope that the next message would be one laughing about how this was all a cruel joke and he was free to go on with trying to get over one of the most difficult decisions of his life.

The extended silence seemed to satisfy Merlin who sighed as he saw Arthur close his eyes and bathe in the comforting glow of the floating orbs. At least he wasn't curled in a small ball anymore.

"I'm confiscating this." Arthur smiled internally but externally his face remained stony and unmoving. "Where's your laptop? I'm taking that too." He waved over towards the desk which was remarkably unscathed given the fact his bed had been turned on its side in his frustration. He didn't care what Merlin's plans were for his electronic devices, as long as whatever it was gave him some form of peace. Arthur felt his lips tug themselves up at the corners forming into the closest thing to a smile he'd felt in a long while; peace like these lights, whatever they were, helped him feel. "At least you didn't break this. Your dad would be pissed if he had to replace it."

"Screw my dad."

Merlin had a small smile as he made his way to the door. Alright, so the anger towards his father wasn't brilliant, nor was the inbox filled with hideously graphic images in any way healthy, but the image of Arthur, once again successfully mesmerised by those small distracting balls of light he'd conjured, looking…well, as well as could be expected…

It felt good.

* * *

><p>Since that ill-fated first night out a couple months ago, Merlin had come up with excuse after excuse to avoid coming out having around a forty percent success rate due to Gwaine's shameless begging on more than one occasion. Leon, being in the year above the others, generally had a greater deal of work and was usually buried under readings and wholly unreachable. Lance had no real opposition to going out a couple times a week but never really went overboard, generally trying to build up the confidence to talk to a dark-skinned beauty who he always seemed to be able to pick out from even the closest of crowds in whichever club she happened to grace.<p>

Were Gwaine to have his way, he'd be out most every night having the time of his life. Of course, he knew that he'd never be able to keep that up for any real length of time, instead settling for going out whenever anybody (usually Arthur) agreed to hit the high street with him.

Tonight though, all of five of them were having a night off, heading for the cheapest, but still somewhat classy, club that was open.

The O Bar.

Charging only a quid for entry before ten pm and generally not very packed due to its small size and slightly higher price of alcohol, it was the ideal place just to relax, even if only for a few hours.

Putting away his provisional licence as he stepped in the door, Arthur took a deep breath of the alcohol and sweat-laden air and found himself smiling. Maybe this idea of Gwaine's was better than he'd given it possible credit for.

The rhythmic beat of the club songs, the strong smell that brought back many happy memories and focusing on thwarting Gwaine's repeated attempts to get Merlin drunk again were just the distraction he needed, even if it was weird to be out his room again. Soon enough he found himself not just enjoying himself but he was laughing at some stupid joke Lance told them while they were getting their third round of drinks.

He knew, possibly better than most, that these pearls of moments had a tendency to be cut short but there was no one who could foresee how short this one was to be cut.

Sat in the far corner, far from the dance floor where most of the patrons were shaking their stuff sat a rowdy bunch of lads, around ten in total who were roaring every four minutes or so at some unknown joke.

Arthur's eyes had passed over them at the beginning and there were a few times their cries caught him by surprise but otherwise he paid them little mind. Except there was one of them, sat in the middle of the throng, his head covered in short prickly hairs that matched his somewhat groomed stubble that clung to his chin. Often it was him who started the group of them cheering and laughing, his mobile phone clutched tightly in his hand as he laughed over-dramatically.

He couldn't place it but there was something about that guy that seemed so damn familiar, like they'd met before but never really spoken and he found himself constantly throwing glances over to him, trying desperately to place the guy's face.

The moment Arthur realised exactly where, his stomach rolled, causing him to half-stumble back from the group, unintentionally smashing into the bar. In all the photos sent him there were around seven or eight different guys being serviced by Sophia but _this_ guy had been the first.

Every time his phone had gone off it was the image of _this_ guy groaning in pleasure that filled his mind and his stomach rolled again as he wretched. Nearly bending-double he clutched a hand to his stomach trying to calm himself. As he glanced up, once again finding that arse instantly, Arthur saw nothing but red as the man roared once more with laughter and unknowingly he began to stride forward with every intention to go over there and smack that guy as hard as he possibly could.

Luckily, Merlin, the only other person to have seen the picture that was plaguing his friend at that moment, had also seen and recognised the brute, realising who he was just as Arthur took his first step forward. Suspecting what was going to happen, Merlin instantly grabbed at Gwaine's arm as he saw Arthur start to pass through the group. "Stop him!"

Not bothering to question the reason, Gwaine's fingers quickly latched on his friend's right arm before he was out of reach, holding him firmly in place, although Arthur didn't really struggle to break free of his grip. "Easy, Arthur."

Paying the repeated remarks of how the douche wasn't worth it no heed, Arthur didn't look away from that dick's sickening face for nearly five minutes, not realising that all of his friends had at least one hand on him, ready to pull him back should he try to make a run for it.

Considering their collective reassurances he realised they were right, beating the bastard might make him feel a great deal better but he'd end up banned from the club and still angry and it was just better left alone. Still he didn't much like the prospect of hanging around.

"I've had enough. No, I had fun, really," he added gently pulling himself out of their combined grip but heading away from the cocky jerk, not even giving him the grace of a glance, "but I just can't do this right now."

The rest of the protests fell on deaf ears as his eyes turned to the entrance where they landed on the last person he wanted to see right now.

Sweeping in from outside, her straw-coloured hair falling too-perfectly about her shoulders that were bare thanks to her strappy top mainly held up by what Arthur knew for a fact was a heavily padded bra, was Sophia.

This club was one of the ones along the high street that had nowhere outside so save for the toilets, there was nowhere to run and hide, which Arthur would never admit was his first instinct. It was an instinct he all-but-squashed only taking one step back before he felt two hands pressed gently against his back holding him in place. He didn't need to look to know they belonged to Gwaine and Leon, the only two to ever have met the bitch.

"The hell is she doing here?" Gwaine growled from his right while Leon placed his other hand on Arthur's back to try and reassure the blond who all a sudden seemed to be fighting off the urge to shake.

What the _fuck_ was she doing here?

Sophia lived in _London_ spoiled and catered for by her idiot parents.

There was only reason she would be here and Arthur's gut told him that it was working like a charm.

She strode forward, stopping momentarily to glance over to the ragtag group that were all glaring at her, except for Arthur who was purposefully avoiding watching her but once he was certain she'd passed, his stomach crumpled, slowly losing all his strength.

"No you don't." Gwaine shifted, placing a steadying hand on Arthur's shoulder while trying to hold him up and reach round him as his friend tried to curl up again. "No, Arthur!"

This had been a terrible idea; he should never have left his room.

Straightening up slightly, Arthur turned to Gwaine and muttered. "I want to go home now."

"That's fine, but I am not carrying your lazy arse." His voice was surprisingly gentle as he jogged his shoulder a bit to try and encourage Arthur to take his own weight. "Come on."

His legs begrudgingly supported him and he fought every instinct to turn as he realised the rowdy guys from the corner had been quiet since Sophia had entered. This suggested only one true scenario to him and all he could think was, _God,_ _please_ _no_, at the thought she was visiting them.

"Arthur!"

Raising a hand to rub down the side of his face as he half-turned refusing to face the whore as she approached using that deceptively sweet voice to call out his name. "Piss off."

"Such language!" she feigned offence but he still refused to look at her.

"I said, piss off."

"I only want to catch up." The bitterness in her voice was beginning to seep through into her normally oh-so-innocent voice. "For old time's sake."

Arthur hadn't noticed that the others had continued walking towards the door and ignored Merlin who was tugging on his arm, while quietly hissing to just ignore her and come on already. Sucking in a deep breath, he turned to face Sophia looking her straight in her eyes as he spoke.

"I want you to stop messaging me, and get out my life."

"Oh you _are_ getting those then?" she half-turned from him shrugging slightly. "It was hard to tell. You know, you never replied."

There was a throaty chuckle as 'first photo' guy placed one of his course, dirty hands on Sophia's shoulders that seemed surprisingly pale in comparison.

"Probably too busy jerking off over them."

Merlin's tug on his arm became more urgent and Arthur knew it would soon be joined by a more forceful hand if he didn't move so, glancing daggers at the two people who were before him, he allowed himself to begin to be pulled towards the door, immediately trying to push this whole horrible incident behind him and starting a list of reasons not to curl up next to the radiator again.

"You really are Queen Arthur, aren't you?"

Within an instant, Arthur had torn his arm from the loose grip Merlin had on him, turned, charged the jackass and smacked him across the jaw.

And _that__'__s_ when all hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>"That's it, Merlin."<p>

Nasty, buzzing tungsten lights were flickering overhead, pushing their way through his eyelids and slowly bringing him to consciousness.

"Come on, that's it."

With a groan he pried his eyes open, only to close them again as the back of his head throbbed while a headache flared at the base of his skull.

"There it is."

Turning to his side, Merlin ignored the throb as it pulsed again and looked at the person sat beside him.

"Gwaine?"

His lip was swollen and split in several places while just beneath his scruffy hair that fell over his face was a stitched-up head wound. A healthy bruise was also developing under his right eye, practically sitting on the cheek bone but even with all his injuries the burly man was sat, one leg pulled over the other and a half-smirk playing across his lips. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Had me worried for a little while there."

"Where-?" he tried to sit up but his head complained rather sharply, clearly saying he wasn't going to be doing anything too movement based any time soon.

"I'd take it easy if I were you."

"Thanks." He ground his teeth as he lay back down, thankful as the pain softened somewhat even if it didn't disappear completely. "Where are we?"

"Queen Alexandra A&E."

"Huh?"

Looking around at the room as best as he could from his inopportune angle he realised that it sort of fit. Three pristine white walls, one to either side of him and one behind his head while the forth wall was replaced by a nasty mint-green colour curtain pulled across giving the two occupants some privacy. Spreading his fingers across what he was laid on his fingers found the metal side of a hospital gurney as he had half-expected. Glancing over at Gwaine he saw the man was sat in a chair with covers that matched the hideous curtains.

Closing his eyes he listened to the noises that were coming from beyond the material divider, identifying most of them as simple things such as hushed voices and travelling feet broken by the rhythmic bips from various machines.

Yep, this was definitely a hospital.

"You okay?"

Opening his eyes to meet Gwaine's watchful gaze, Merlin took a deep breath as he contemplated his answer. "My head is killing me."

Gwaine snorted. "Not surprised."

"What happened?"

"Tell me what you remember."

Trying, and for the most part failing, to ignore the pain that gripped his head, Merlin searched through the murk and the mire that was fogging his memories before he found one he was absolutely certain had happened.

"I'm guessing _that_ was Sophia." It was only an image of Arthur stood, frozen before some strange, golden-haired girl who'd entered the club but it was enough. "I thought she lived somewhere else. Wasn't that why they broke up?"

"They broke up because Arthur finally realised she was more than hazardous to his health."

"Gwaine." Beyond that image, there was nothing else really and Merlin felt certain there was something the scruffy-haired man was keeping from him. "What happened?"

The burly guy looked up from his twitchy, flexing fingers and Merlin noticed how his knuckles were slightly scuffed as though he'd been in a fight. "She pushed Arthur a bit too much and he sort of…snapped."

"There was a fight?" He nodded as the coffee-boy glanced round the room again, only just noticing that there was nobody else there. "Where is everybody?"

"Lance got an elbow to the face, the paramedics weren't sure if he'd broken his nose or not so the doctors are checking him out and Leon's keeping an eye on him. As for you, none of us have a clue what happened. The dance floor cleared and there you were, out cold, head bleeding, leaning oddly against one of those damn pillars." Unfolding his legs, he sat up straighter, feeling his back click into place. "We've been here about an hour and a half."

"What about you?"

He smirked again. "I've had worse."

Merlin's brow furrowed as he realised there was one person who hadn't been mentioned. "What about Arthur?"

"Arthur's fine, few cuts and bruises maybe."

"Where's _he_?"

Gwaine coughed in a useless attempt to relieve some of the palpable tension that had grown on the air. "He went home."

"What?" The raven-haired boy cried out as he suddenly sat up, forgetting the head injury that dragged him back to lean against the pillow. Even so, there had been a moment before the pain hit that Gwaine saw the anger that consumed Merlin's eyes.

Jumping from his seat to hold Merlin down in case he tried to get up again, Gwaine held tightly to the boy's arm. "Easy, Merlin."

"He went _home_?"

"Don't get him wrong." Gwaine's grip loosened and he drew away from Merlin's side but didn't make to sit down again. "He was really worried, really he _was_. Arthur just doesn't _do_ hospitals."

"What?"

Sighing at the look of anger, confusion and upset in Merlin's eyes, Gwaine sat down again but slumped in the seat, his posture showing none of the confidence it had before. Merlin didn't know but it wasn't really his place to explain, Arthur should be the one to tell him, which was great except it was something that the damn prat never talked about, clamming up when it was brought up.

"Gwaine!"

Seeing that look on the coffee-boy's face again he swallowed his doubts. This was for Arthur's own good.

"There was a complication when Arthur was born." He began. "Most of his childhood was spent visiting his mother in hospital where her condition yo-yoed. One day she was perfectly well and telling all sorts of wonderful stories to her little boy, the next she was dead to the world.

"He was there when she died, the morning of his ninth birthday."

"That's terrible." Seeing Merlin's anger having all but disappeared when he stopped, Gwaine shook his head lightly.

"It's unfortunate but not really the problem if you ask me." Merlin turned onto his side and watched as Gwaine's eyes bored into one of the gurney's legs. "It was Uther's second heart attack that did the real damage.

"Technically, he was dead for three minutes before they managed to resuscitate him. And Arthur saw the whole thing. Barely a teenager and he'd come so close to having watched both his parents die…" Gwaine rubbed at his jaw, which was becoming increasingly sore as he spoke. Vaguely recalling someone having smashed a fist across it during the fight he brushed the thought away and decided to simply ignore it. "We didn't even know until it was thought he'd broken his hand during P.E. in Year 11.

"As soon as the teacher mentioned the h-word, he just began panicking. Like a full-blown attack in the middle of the sports hall, he was shaking and babbling and we didn't know what to do. It took several of us twenty minutes to calm him down enough to let the paramedics in, which set him off again but eventually they got him x-rayed." Gwaine lowered his head at the memory of sitting beside a shaking Arthur in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. "It wasn't broken. He was back at school the next day and didn't say a word to anyone for the rest of the week."

Merlin was silent for a few moments before he audibly swallowed.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't think we're going to find him curled up in his room again if that's what you worried about." He shook his head, remembering the look of unadulterated fury on Arthur's face as he'd all but ordered Gwaine to tell him where Merlin had hidden his mobile filled with those disgusting images. "Sophia's pushed him too far this time."

Realising that there was a good deal he hadn't been witness to that night, Merlin chose to trust his friend and instead settled back against the comforting pillow and horrifically plastic bed. Then a thought occurred to him and in an attempt to lighten the mood he decided to bring it forward.

"Gwaine?"

"Um-hmm?"

"We're banned from the O Bar, aren't we?"

Gwaine chuckled. "Indefinitely, my friend."

* * *

><p>Arthur stamped his feet, trying to shake the cold from his legs as he waited in the car park outside his accommodation.<p>

He'd found the mobile easy enough. It had been exactly where Gwaine had said it was, and it was now sat comfortably in the large front pocket of his extra-large and very warm hooded jumper. Much to his own amazement he'd managed to avoid sneaking a glance at those horrific pictures instead sending a message to the bitch in beauty's clothing.

_We_ _have_ _to_ _talk._  
><em>Outside<em> _my_ _place._ _2_ _hours._  
><em>No<em> _excuses._

There had been no reply but he knew she would turn up; there wasn't a chance she'd pass up an opportunity to mess with him again and it was that killer instinct of hers that he was counting on.

It wasn't long before an easily recognisable, gaudy pink VW beetle pulled in off the road before rolling up the small incline and drawing into the space around twenty yards away from where Arthur remained, unmoving.

As she came round the side of her car, a sardonic smile twisting her lips as she leant against the boot of her car. "I knew you'd come back to me."

"Don't flatter yourself." He scowled at her, keeping his distance as he sighed. "What's wrong with you Sophia? It's not enough to tear me apart from the inside, you have to attack my friends?"

Her normally graceful features moulded into an angered look. "If I remember rightly, you're the one who threw the first punch."

Arthur shook his head, retrieving the phone from his pocket and holding it out towards her. "Not according to this it wasn't." Pulling back slightly, he threw it to her. Catching it in both hands she gave it a look over before sneering at the 'inferior' model it was. "_You_ started this when you sent me that first message. You pushed me and I just never pushed back. Until last night." He felt his anger and rage build in his eyes as he watched her dragging her nails over the phone's buttons. "I was stupid and my friend's are paying the price, and I realised." Reaching out he pointed at her pouring all his anger and hatred towards her as he spoke. "I've put up with your shit for long enough, Sophia. And it ends now."

She just smiled with that faux innocence of hers, which barely a year ago would have had him eating out of her hand, spouting apologies and begging forgiveness but it didn't fool him now.

"How _are_ they Arthur?" her smile twisted into a cruel smile. "How's the _runt_?"

"_Merlin_ is still in hospital." At that point, stifling a growl as it rose in his throat, Arthur wasn't sure who he was angrier at: Sophia for using that word, or himself for knowing who she meant.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Fake concern and sarcasm were dripping from her voice as she said her hollow words and Arthur just narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what she was going to say next. "Shame you can't visit him."

Taking a deep breath, he pushed his anger, forcing it down, knowing a reaction was exactly what she was aiming for. She'd always been a manipulative bitch and when he didn't do what she wanted, she knew exactly how to get to him.

"You're a bitch."

She laughed lightly, flicking her hair. "I _do_ try."

"No seriously," his voice was strangly calm, none of his inner rage affecting his words, "You've put me through absolute hell and you still expect me to turn round like a little lap dog and bark when you tell me."

"What on _earth_ are you saying, Arthur?"

"One day, Sophia, you're going to wake up and realise how much shit you've put me through. You'll wake up and realise just how royally you fucked up everything, not just me. Hopefully when that day comes you'll look at the messages on _that_ phone." Arthur reached out a hand and pointed at the phone still clutched securely between her well-groomed nails. "The messages that _you_ sent me and you'll have a fucking aneurysm." The shock on her face barely registered with him as he felt a sense of relief washing through his chest as everything he'd longed to say for almost a year now was finally seeing the light of day.

"You _dare_ say that to me?" Her usually delicate face morphed into a look of pure anger and Arthur merely rolled his eyes at her.

"Piss off, Sophia." Arthur looked her up and down as he took a step backwards, preparing to just leave. "Get out of my life and this time, stay out!"

With that he turned and started back towards his building, fighting back the urge to turn and look at her, knowing that he would never be free of her if he did. She had just shouted a rather colourful word in his direction before a final thought occurred to him and he turned back.

"Ha!" she cried triumphantly as she saw him turn, unperturbed by the unfazed look on his face. "Not even ten metres!"

"Sophia." Arthur took a few steps forward before stopping, still keeping a considerable distance between them, "Consider this your one and only warning. If you _ever_ send my friends where I can't follow them again..." He paused. "I don't care who you are, the past we had or the sway you hold with my father; I will find a way to make you pay." He allowed his anger to rise up now and fill his entire being and watched as she stared at him, a changed man from the guy she'd been dating for all those years.

And with that he turned on his heel leaving her with her ridiculous car, her deceptively good looks and an otherwise empty phone filled with pornographic pictures.

In the meanwhile, he was already busy making plans to hijack Percy's mobile so he could call Gwaine and see what was happening with them.

After all, just because he couldn't go to the hospital didn't mean he had to be clueless about how they were doing.


End file.
